Attention PDQ, WashWorld, Belanger, Ryko & Others

[Bubbles Galore]

If you truly stand behind your machines and tout them as "top of the line", "state-of-the-art", "premier car wash equipment", then make it slightly more feasible for people to purchase your equipment. Take a vested interest in the car washes you sell your equipment to instead of just worrying about how much money you are getting for your equipment.

Just my .02...Thoughts?

A good example is NuStar's lease program that they are offering. It at the very least shows a willingness to partner up with the owner in a vested manner.

 

[mac]

Bubbles, a lot of these ones you mentioned offered financing at one time or another. My gut feeling is that these manufacturers right now are just hoping to keep their doors open. A lot of them are running with a bare staff. Good idea though, as financing has changed a lot.

 

[ken-pro]

Washworld has a person on staff full time who's only job is to provide equipment leasing options to their customers. Of course it is usually up to the distributor to inform the customer that services like these are available.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I just don't see the push or drive from these manufacturer's to think outside the box a little bit to get their equipment out there. I'm not saying that these mfg's need to go out and give every Tom Dick and Harry a piece of equipment, but there has to be something that can be done by these guys to make it easier for operators like myself that want to get a machine but don't have $50,000 sitting in the bank. My accountant could not believe that there isn't a manufacturer based financing program in place...

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Kevin,

When I spoke with him, it didn't appear to me as though he was part of WashWorld, he was just a company that partnered up with them.

 

[Whale of a Wash]

There probably hasn't been a better time to buy a really good touchfree.
20 yrs ago a total POS Nu-star we bought was like 67K. In todays money you can get a PDQ or Vector Both at $74,995. I think those two have done alot to make their machines very affordable. It should be very easy to get a loan for that amount at a really low interest rate, and be able to deal with your home town bank. It is always nice to circulate the money in your home town where it does the most good.

 

[soapy]

I have leased several ryko automatics with a $1 end buyout. There are several companies that will fianance leases 100%. My bank even started doing it about a year ago.

 

[lighthousecarwash]

I have been pricing new automatics the last few weeks and being new to the industry, have been suprised at the quotes I have been receiving. The quotes for having a new machine installed has been way north of that $74995 number. Crunching the numbers, I will pretty much get the return on my investment in time to upgrade again. Guess it's like a car payment. You just expect that you will always have one, and never get it paid off before it's time for a new one.


Lighthouse.

 

[Kevin James]

Any kind of financing in this day and age is going to be very difficult even with the best of credit. Most of the equipment companies that produce car wash equipment are in the same direr situation as everyone else, struggling at best.

 

[Ric]

If you truly stand behind your machines and tout them as "top of the line", "state-of-the-art", "premier car wash equipment", then make it slightly more feasible for people to purchase your equipment. Take a vested interest in the car washes you sell your equipment to instead of just worrying about how much money you are getting for your equipment.

Just my .02...Thoughts?

A good example is NuStar's lease program that they are offering. It at the very least shows a willingness to partner up with the owner in a vested manner.

Who is the Nustar distributor for Michigan?

 

[Earl Weiss]

A word of caution to all on any kind of equipment leasing.

First and foremost the equipment must be quality and the company must stand behind it.

Why? Some equipment companies, not neccessarily in the car wash industry, even had i with ATM companies offer an "equipment lease" . This is really not a lease but a disguised financing arrangement thru a third party. Often, the equipment company, particularly with ATMs offer rebates over time.

So you buy the equipment, sign the "lease" as the equipment turns out to be a POS. The supplier goes belly up and you don't get your rebates.

Guess what? You still owe $ to the "Leasing Company" since they paid the supplier. The fact that the equipment is garbage is no defense.

At least with a true lease you have some leverage.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Ric - I just googled their website and made the call. I never talked to anyone specific.